This invention pertains to hand-held applicators or dispensers for applying heat softenable or meltable compounds such as sealants or adhesive to a receiving surface, and more particularly pertains to improvements whereby means are provided for electrically heating the outer end of the barrel of the device, and for mechanically driving the compound being applied into the heated portion of the barrel for softening and extrusion of the compound from a nozzle.
Hand-held, electrically heated dispensers for softening and applying hot melt adhesives are known in the art, and are disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,764,045; 3,877,610; 3,951,307. The design of such dispensers is complex, so that construction thereof is time consuming and costly, and they require a compressed air supply for the pneumatic means that is used for expelling the melted adhesive compound when applying it to an adhesive-receiving surface. Such dispensers have, therefore, been intended for purchase and use primarily by industry and commercial contractors, and are too expensive to purchase or impractical for use by an occasional user such as a home handyman.